“I’ll go change,” I mutter, turning toward my bedroom.
The second my bare feet hit the carpet of my room, my phone buzzes, rattling against the kitchen counter. I spin and run all in one motion and reach for the phone at the exact moment as Mom’s fingers wrap around it. “I got it.”
She lifts a brow but doesn’t release my phone. “Are you hiding something? If you’re doing something you don’t want your mother to know about, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.”
“I’m not a little girl anymore, Mom. There are plenty of things I do that I don’t want you knowing about.” With a tug, I snatch the phone away and tuck it into my pocket. If she knew what I did moments before she’d arrived, she would be so disappointed. Of course, I don’t think she’d be less disappointed if I’d sent it to the anonymous stranger it was intended for.
“We’re going to be late,” she scolds.
I rush into my room, close the door behind me, and lean against it before withdrawing the phone from my pocket.
Sam: Nice shoes.
That makes me smile. Damn. I needed that.
I click into the text box and stare at my phone, but I can’t think of a reply.
Instead of texting Sam, I pull up the chat application I use to talk to River. I already depleted my short supply of courage sending that picture the first time, so I’m not going to send it again.
Tink24: Do you still want to meet me?
Riverrat69: More than anything.
Tink24: When? Where?
Riverrat69: Can you get to Brown County tomorrow night?
I put my hand to my mouth. I’ll be staying in Brown County tomorrow after Hanna’s wedding. And so will Sam.
It really is him. It has to be.
Tink24: Yes. It will have to be late. I have an event.
Riverrat69: 5429 Water Pointe Blvd. I’ll wait up.
Tink24: I’ll see you then.
Riverrat69: I’ve never actually ripped a woman’s clothes off before, but I might have to with you. I don’t think you’ll make it past the foyer before I bury my face in your pussy.
The thrill that buzzes though me at his words settles hard and hot between my legs.
Tink24: You have to promise not to rip my dress. It’s too pretty for that.
Riverrat69: Then you have to promise to take it off as soon as you step in the door.
“Elizabeth!” Mom calls.
Snapping out of my stupor, I toss the phone on the bed. “Just a minute!”
I need to focus on getting dressed in something sexier than my Christmas pajamas. I don’t know if Sam’s coming down for the wedding festivities tonight or tomorrow, but I want to look my best. Just in case.
I pick black thigh-high stockings, a black skirt that’s almost inappropriately short, and a red sweater that hugs me in all the right places. Perfect. Sexy, without being over the top. In five minutes, I’ve dressed, applied lip-gloss and mascara, and am heading out the door with Mom.
I wouldn’t typically carpool with my mother, but she can’t drive for shit in the winter, and I agreed to take her. Hanna and Nate are getting married in this gorgeous mansion in Brown County. The ten-bed, ten-bath home they rented has a ballroom and massive gourmet kitchen, and is nestled into the wooded hills of Brown County. They rented the whole place, as well as half the rooms at the inn down the street, for their guests. With the dusting of snow on the trees, it’s going to be a gorgeous Christmas wedding. Maybe the happiest day of my twin’s life. And the way things are shaping up, it might not be such a bad day for me either.
This is a mistake, some rational part of my brain warns. I signed up for Something Real because I wanted commitment. Sam has never offered that—as himself or as River.
In fact, my relationship with Sam can be broken down into a series of defining moments that I realize, in an isolated list, make me look like Slutty McSluttypants.
1. The night I tried to seduce him and he turned me down because I was a seventeen-year-old virgin.
2. The night I decided to “cheer him up” at a mutual friend’s wedding and ended up inviting him back to my place.
3. The night of Cally’s wedding when I slept with him again, even though I’d promised myself I wouldn’t.
4. The morning early last summer when he and Della walked in on Connor and me together.
I’m not proud of that little list. It doesn’t leave me feeling particularly warm and fuzzy about the choices I’ve made. And I can’t help but wonder if this weekend is going to leave me with nothing more than another item to tick off when I think of Sam.
I was ready to tell River I wouldn’t meet him. I was too afraid to lose him once he found out who I was. Then Sam asked me to be his date for the wedding, and that changed everything. If he wants to be my date, maybe he won’t be so disappointed when he finds out I’m the woman he’s been talking to online.